Three said injured in power plant accidents

JAKARTA (JP): Two non-governmental organizations yesterday urged the East Java government to take safety measures at a power transmitter in Gresik following a recent series of explosions that injured three people.

The Indonesian Center for Environmental Law and the Surabaya chapter of the Legal Aid Institute have urged "immediate action" to prevent similar incidents occurring in the highly controversial power project.

They were referring to the 500 kilovolt extra-high-voltage electricity transmitter project, began in 1992, which has hundreds of residents living in fear.

Earlier this year 92 Singosari residents sued the government and the state electricity company for erecting high-voltage cables above their houses, demanding more than Rp 4 billion (US$2 million) in compensation. The case is still before the Central Jakarta District Court.

The Legal Aid Institute's headquarters in Jakarta wrote to President Soeharto, the National Human Rights Commission and the State Minister of Environment last week to express their concern for residents' safety following the explosions.

The non-governmental organizations said the first five explosions were heard on Nov. 11 and another two, six days later.

"The explosions were so loud they could be heard 2.5 kilometers away and were accompanied by a flash of lighting, which reached the ground where the people ... live," Indro Sugianto, director of Legal Aid Surabaya, said.

Three people were injured and hundreds others traumatized by the incident, he said.

Sugianto said the state electricity company has ignored repeated appeals and warnings from the residents concerning the hazardous project. He urged the government to take firm action against the company for causing unrest.

Director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law Mas Achmad Santosa said he fully supported the Legal Aid Institute. Concrete measures should be taken to prevent similar accidents from happening again, he said.

The Legal Aid Institute also called on the government to relocate residents from the area.

Santosa called for the formation of an independent team to investigate the explosions and its effects to the environment.

"The center for environmental law and other non-government organizations are able to bring in experts from overseas who are competent in this field and can be independent researchers," he said.(sim)